Domino Effect
by SereneCalamity
Summary: [Previously Titled 'Just Died In His Arms Tonight'] Clarke couldn't help her attraction to her best friends older brother, but he never thought things would escalate the night of her graduation. Bellarke.
1. Chapter 1

_Hey, beautiful people! So this is my first time writing in this category. I watched the whole first season on one Saturday afternoon, and I was kind of hooked. It's so addictive! I was completely for Finn and Clarke to get together, mainly coz Finn is a damn hottie and I recognized him from _Prom _but the chemistry between Bellamy and Clarke is ridiculous, and they make for a much more fun couple :P Anyway, title of this song is take from the song '_I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight_' by Cutting Crew...And like a hundred other people. Haha. _

_Disclaimer: I don't own characters._

"Ooh, yeah! Doctors in the house!" The shout rang throughout the bar, and the blonde who was coming through the door ducked her head, and shook it in embarrassment. She quickly joined the group who were sitting around a booth near the back of the bar nursing drinks in their hands.

"_Nurse_," Clarke Griffin corrected as she sat down on the edge of the booth, Octavia Blake squishing up to create more room for her friend.

"Yeah, but 'doctor' sounds so much cooler," Finn Collins shrugged. "Anyway, this is your graduation party. You shouldn't be sober enough to be correcting anyone!"

"Yes!" Octavia grinned, thumping her fist down on the table in agreement. "We need to get this girl a drink!"

"I'll do the next run," Monty Green stood up. "What do you want, Nurse Griffin?" He grinned at her.

"I'll just take a white wine," she said. A collective groan went up from the table and she looked around, wide-eyed. "What?!"

"She will take a...Dirty Orgasm," Octavia interrupted. "And I'll take the same."

"Shit, I live with you," Raven Reyes piped up. "And you do _not_ need more of those!"

"Hey!" Octavia exclaimed and the table burst into laughs.

"What's wrong with wine?" Clarke whined as Monty walked up to the bar to place their order.

"You always get wine," Finn pointed out.

"Because I like it," she shot back.

"It's boring!" Octavia snapped. "And tonight, you are going to get well and truly fucked up and then we're going to get you an _actual_ dirty orgasm, not just the drink." Clarke rolled her eyes. Monty came back with the drinks and put them down on the table, sharing them around to the people sitting and Finn lifted his bottle of beer, pointing the neck in Clarke's direction with a grin.

"To my favorite blonde," he announced. "You are one stubborn, annoying, most _frustrating_ overachievers I know—which is probably how you managed to be the one of us that got through University the quickest, skipping almost six months in your degree. And for that, we all love you and hate you at the same time."

"I just hate you," Octavia grumbled. "Now I'm going to be stuck on my lunch break with Harper."

"There's nothing wrong with Harper," Jasper Jordan spoke up.

"That's because you're tryna get in her pants," Monty laughed.

"Shut up!" Finn spoke over them, before turning back to Clarke. "Congratulations to Clarke!"

"Congrats!"

"To Clarke!"

The well-wishes sounded around the table as the friends clinked their glasses together and drank from them. Finn met Clarke's eyes, and she smiled gratefully at him before taking a long drink her glass. Finn and Clarke had been friends for a while. They had known each other since they were about six or seven from school, but they hadn't actually become close until they were fifteen, and Clarke had gotten drunk for the first time. They had stumbled together into the hallway of whoever was throwing the party, making out against the wall as they started up the stairs. For a moment, Clarke thought that she was going to loose her virginity to boy that she had spoken to exactly three times in her life. Then they had pulled apart, and she had thrown up all over his shoes.

They had been friends ever since.

Octavia and Clarke had been best friends since they were little. They were complete opposites in every way imaginable. While Clarke was an only child, with well off parents who had respectable jobs, Octavia had an older brother and was part of a single parent home, where her mother did odd jobs, but generally lived off the child support she received for her two kids. Clarke liked school and made friends easily, while Octavia skipped so much she was held back a year and got into fights with girls and boys alike. These differences just grew as they got older, but the friendship between the two girls was still strong.

"How many drinks has she had?" Jasper whispered about two two hours later to Raven, as Octavia and Clarke skipped down the path in front of the rest of the group.

"Fuck knows," Raven laughed. Jasper grinned and looked over at Finn, who was laughing as Clarke tripped over her feet and would have face-planted if Octavia hadn't reached out and steadied her. The two girls reached the crowded club first, showing their ID's at the door and disappearing inside as the rest of the group joined them.

"Good thing she's not working tomorrow," Raven muttered. "Don't think she's ever learnt how to deal with a hangover."

Octavia was doing her usual thing, scouting the place for potential lovers for the night, one arm slung around Clarke's neck while the other one held a drink she had already brought. Knowing Octavia, that would be the last drink she would have to pay for herself tonight—she was handy like that. Clarke was leaning against the bar, the short silver dress dancing around her tanned thighs as she bounced to the music that was pumping through the club. Raven dragged Finn out onto the dance floor, grinding up against him like nobodies business, the vodka she had consumed burning through her veins and making her even bolder than usual. Monty and Jasper had sidled up to two girls, clearly trying to find someone to go home with. Two men approached Octavia, and she practically pushed Clarke into the first ones arms before wrapping her hands around the neck of the second.

Clarke laughed as the man spun her around, her hair flying out around her as she whirled back into him. He pulled her in close, his hands sliding up her back and then down to her ass, squeezing it lightly before settling on her hips. He was attractive enough, and it had been a while since she had slept with someone. The alcohol had created that happy buzz she had denied herself over the past four or five months while studying her ass off to graduate, and she was happy to loose herself for the night. Being in complete control could be tiring, and tonight was her turn to let go.

"Princess?" The nickname from behind her made her jump, and the man holding her held her tighter, even though they stopped dancing.

"Bellamy?!" Clarke squealed as she pulled herself away from the man and jumped into the arms of older brother of her best friend. Octavia was standing beside him, grinning from ear to ear. "What are you doing here?"

"I just moved back. Vee said that you guys were going to be here tonight, thought that I would join the celebration," Bellamy Blake told her, his mouth close to her ear so that she could hear him over the music. The man behind her was forgotten, and he clearly picked up on that, as the trio made their way over to the bar to order another round of drinks.

Clarke had known Bellamy for as long as she had known Octavia.

And she had probably had a crush on him for about the same amount of time.

He was the kind of bad, delicious looking, older brother of her best friend.

The intensity of that crush came and went as the years went by. She had had boyfriends that she had truly liked, there had been one guy that she thought she might even love, but whenever Bellamy came crashing back into her life, there was a small part of her of her that lit up. It wasn't like the crush could ever go anywhere, given he was four years older than her and he viewed her like a little sister. But she hadn't seen him for nearly eighteen months, and having him back, already drunk and high on life, made her feel tingly inside.

Just after three, she almost fell off her bar stool and Finn and Bellamy caught her, laughing as she threw an arm around each of them.

"I think it's time to head home," Raven announced.

"That might be a good idea," Bellamy said, helping Clarke off her seat, easily holding her weight against him. "I'll get Princess home."

"You sure?" Finn asked. "We're heading her way."

"So am I," Bellamy replied. Clarke giggled and reached out to touch his face before turning back to face her friends.

"I just need all you guys to know...That I love you," she slurred.

"Shit," Octavia laughed. "She's fucked."

The drive back to Clarke's apartment was only a short cab drive. She fell asleep on Bellamy's shoulder, and he didn't bother waking her once they arrived, picking her up and carrying her inside easily. When he got to the door, he had no choice but to wake her up, in order for him to find her house key in her purse. She seemed to be able to stand on her own, so he let her walk inside on her own. He followed her through to the kitchen, locking the door behind him, where she was pouring a glass of water for herself, clearly trying to hydrate herself with liquid other than alcohol before going to bed.

"Always the smart one, aren't you?" He smirked at her, leaning against the door frame as she finished the glass of water and put it into the sink.

"I hate hangovers," Clarke moaned.

"You'll be okay, Princess," he grinned and came over to where she was leaning against the bench. "Everyone has to deal with them."

"Not me," she pouted. "I hardly ever go out."

"Come on," he linked his fingers through hers. "Lets get you to bed." Clarke tilted her head to the side, her long blonde hair tumbling forward over her shoulder as she looked up to him. She felt emboldened by the alcohol and she bit down on her red, lower lip, enjoying the way Bellamy's eyes flared as he took in her mouth. His fingers tightened around hers and he locked his jaw. "Don't do that, Princess," he murmured, reaching up with his free hand and gently pulling her lip from her teeth. His touch was soft, and he didn't move away from her face, his thumb tracing her lower lip once, twice.

"Why not?" She breathed.

"Because it makes you just _that_ much more irresistible," he murmured.

"You've resisted me for this long," Clarke teased lightly, her stomach in her throat as their faces got closer together.

"That's because you're delicate, and I'm like the Big Bad Wolf," Bellamy told her, his face now so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her mouth.

"You know me better than that," her lips stiffened and her eyes narrowed. "I'm tougher than I look." He smirked, his finger still on her lip, tugging at it, before moving to swipe softly at her cheek.

"I could eat you alive."

"What if that's what I want?" Clarke managed to ask, her breathing hitching.

"I don't think you could handle me," he smirked.

"Try me..." were Clarke's last words before Bellamy's mouth came crashing down on hers.

_So guys? What do you think? This is kind of a tester chapter, I'll just see what everyone thinks, and if people like it, then I'll continue! So review, let me know what you think, and if there's a good response, I promise I'll write more :) _

_Now, on another subject; New Year Resolutions and all that shit. I am so _not _a New Year, New Me kind of person, and I totally mock anyone else who is like that (including most of my best friends) but I do try and make a couple of improvements and beginning of a new year is a good time as any to try. So on each of my updates I'm going to put up two things that has made me happy, or smile, or giggle through the week. It's not going to be anything like my hubby (who is this sexy hunk of awesomeness that lights up my life) or my best friends or family (also complete and utter darlings). It's going to be purely superficial shit, and you guys can do what you want with that information ;)_

_This week; Ian Somerhalder a.k.a Damon Salvatore. Okay, sooooo if you don't know who this blue eyed devil is, or don't think he's attractive in the slightest then I don't know what you're planet you're from. This guy makes me wet every time he comes on screen. OH. MY. GOD. Second is the song _We Come Running _by Youngblood Hawke. I know, I know, it's an old song, but I totally hated it until about a week ago when I saw it on a TV series, and then my opinion totally changed. It's just such a feel good song! __It's such a feel good song, and just makes me want to belt it out from the rooftops...Or scream it out when I'm driving in the car with the windows down._


	2. Chapter 2

_I loved your reviews! You guys are incredible! Here's the next chapter :)_

Bellamy had only been back in the city for three days, and already he had screwed things up. He turned his head to the side, looking down at the sleeping blonde next to him and despite how fucked up shit was, he couldn't help but smile slightly.

Sure; he had thought about sleeping with the girl—woman—beside him before. He just never thought he would be stupid enough to actually do it.

The sheets were tangled around her waist, and her long blonde hair was tumbling down her back. Even in her sleep, she had a little frown on her face, her eyebrows furrowed as though in concentration. There was never any relaxing Ms Clarke Griffin. She shifted in her sleep, turning her head so that it she was facing him properly. He reached out and caressed her cheek, running his finger down to her lips which curved upward in a small smile at his touch. He stilled, breathing in deeply, her scent surrounding him and adding to the dangerous intoxication he was already feeling.

He had to get out of there.

Bellamy dressed quickly and silently, an art that he had perfected over the years of sneaking out of girls apartments. But unlike those times, he kneeled on the floor beside Clarke and ran his hand through her hair. Her eyes opened slowly and she blinked at him. He saw the different expressions fly across her face, split seconds after one another. Confusion, surprise, worry, insecurity, then finally the concrete wall that she had carefully created for herself since she was young. Bellamy hated it when she used that look around him, but it was to be expected.

"I got a job interview at ten, princess," he murmured, still running his fingers through the strands of her hair, twirling it through his fingers in a way that she knew she liked it. He used to do it to her and Octavia when they were younger and couldn't sleep.

"On a Sunday?" She mumbled, raising a fair eyebrow.

"It's with a friend," he shrugged. "And I'm kinda desperate. Can't be too choosy."

"I guess that I'll, uh, see you around," she glanced over him carefully and for a moment Bellamy considered throwing caution to the wind, postponing the interview and climbing back into bed with her. But then he bit down on his lower lip and came crashing back to reality.

"Definitely," he told her with his trademark smirk. "We live in the same city again, princess. You're gonna be sick of me in no time." He was about to straighten up when he had another thought. "When's your first day at work?"

"On Wednesday," she replied.

"We'll have to celebrate; you entering properly into the big, bad world with a grown up job," he smiled lightly and she nodded shortly in response, clearly unsure how to react, given their situation. He reached forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead before straightening up. The kiss to the forehead wasn't uncommon, but something definitely felt different about it this time. He wondered if he should be kissing her on the mouth, but when he saw the way she pursed her lips and retreated into her blankets, he knew that he had made the better decision.

"See you around, Bell," Clarke murmured as he left.

This was ridiculous.

He remembered when he was nine and his sister was five. Their mum had been on a bender and hadn't done any washing in almost a week. Octavia ran out of clean clothes and so he had to give her one of his shirts. It was too big for her, the sleeves hung around her elbows, and there was a rip near the hem. Apparently she got teased at school, and a little blonde whirlwind had swooped in, punched the mean girl in the nose, and gotten detention for it.

When the girls were eleven and Bellamy had just turned fifteen and got his first job, his first pay check went to getting Octavia a new winter jersey. His second one went to the power bill. His third went to the doctors bill when he dislocated his ankle during PE at school. He had wanted to buy a new phone for his sixteenth birthday. On the morning of his birthday, he came downstairs and saw his mum unconscious on the couch. Sitting on the table was a small wrapped gift, his favorite brunette and his favorite blonde staring at him with smiles stretched across his face. It definitely wasn't a brand new phone, not like the ones he had been dreaming about, but it was in relatively good condition, and they were so proud. He knew that Clarke had paid for most of it, given Octavia only got a tiny bit of pocket money every other month.

At eighteen he went away to college. He would never have left if Octavia didn't have Clarke. She wouldn't have survived without her friend, he knew that. He came home on holidays and long weekends, but more often than not, he didn't see Clarke. The first time he saw her after he had left was almost eight months later, and she had just turned fifteen. She was just starting to fill out with womanly curves, and wearing clothes that enunciated those features. He felt sick as he realized how attractive he thought she was. She was the same age as his sister, and if any guy his age went near his sister, he would have beaten them senseless.

The next time he saw her, she was drunk at a party at the age of seventeen. She was laughing and dancing and he was her sober drive home. It was the first time that he had seen her drunk, and probably the first time he had seen her looking so relaxed and loose. When Octavia and bounced over to her and told her that their ride was here, she had flashed him with a wide smile, her eyes bright, that made him grin back, all dopey like.

It had been nearly two years since he had last seen her, and she was now twenty-two. Twenty-two and a fully qualified nurse, as of twenty-four hours ago. She had her own apartment—a nice place—and she looked like she had her life together. Not that he expected anything less from her.

Clarke was important to him.

And there was no way he was going to risk screwing that up now that he was back in her life.

Besides; Octavia would castrate him if she ever found out.

* * *

><p>"Bell! Long time no see!" Atom Ward reached out to slap hands with Bellamy as he came into the greasy looking bar.<p>

"Yeah, I know," Bellamy grinned and jerked his head in the direction of the bar. "We ordering breakfast?"

"Uh, yeah," Atom shrugged. "If breakfast means a steak and potatoes." Bellamy glanced up at the clock on the wall and noted that it was just after eleven. He could probably pass off the meal as lunch. They placed their order with the busty girl behind the counter and then sat down on the bar stools. "So what brings you back into the city? I remember in school you couldn't get out of here fast enough."

"My sister's here," Bellamy replied. "It was always the plan to come back. No matter how bad I wanted to get out."

"And her blonde friend," Atom grinned. "I remember her."

"Bro, they were fourteen when we were in school," Bellamy squinted at the shorter boy.

"Yeah, but I've been around for the past few years while you've been off getting a higher education and shit and I've seen them grown up and become all...Womanly," Atom replied with a slight grin. Bellamy raised an eyebrow at his friend, who realized what he said and quickly backtracked. "I mean watched _Clarke_ grow up. Never watched Octavia." Bellamy continued to stare at him until Atom dropped his gaze to the wooden bar and cleared his throat. "Okay, so anyway, the job."

"That's what I thought. Moving on with a safer subjects," Bellamy snapped.

"The jobs yours if you want it," Atom said as their food was pushed over the counter. "There's only one other guy there who's actually qualified, me and Murphy know what we're doing but don't have the degree—Miller halfway through apprenticeships with both of us though."

"Good to know you guys are running such an upright establishment," Bellamy noted as he stabbed his fork into the first potato on his plate.

"You mean you expect anything else from us?" Atom laughed. "Anyway, I thought it was your first night properly back last night, after finishing your moving and shit, and you were going to come out with us."

"It was Princess's graduation last night," Bellamy replied.

"So you went out partying with the tweens?" He grinned.

"I think it would just be better if we avoided that subject," Bellamy noted and Atom nodded.

* * *

><p>Bellamy never needed much.<p>

When he was younger, all he needed was to know that his sister was safe and fed and warm.

Now that he was older, his needs were pretty much the same. Although cigarettes and sex were something he couldn't imagine not having anymore.

So the apartment that he had chosen was only small. One bedroom, kitchen and lounge combined and a tiny en-suite. It was cheap, it was in a good position near the middle of the city, close to everywhere he needed. He pulled off his jacket and shirt, the ones he had been wearing since the day before, and dumped them on the couch. He could still smell Clarke on his clothes and he let out a long breath as he walked through to the bathroom to turn on the shower. His phone rang and he answered it without looking at the caller ID.

"Hey, big bro," Octavia chirped down the line and he grinned.

"Hey, V," Bellamy replied.

"You were finding out about that job today, right?"

"Yup, I got it."

"Awesome!" He could hear her grinning down the line. "So that means you have no reason to leave again, right?"

"V," Bellamy sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. It had been eight years since they had lived in the same city as each other, and he was all too aware that Octavia wasn't happy about his choice.

"Yeah, I know, you needed your space," she muttered. "Just coz I gotta respect that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"The years have made you smart," Bellamy tried to lighten the mood.

"Nothing to do with my age," Octavia replied. "I hang out with Clarke _way _too much."

"That could be it," he smirked. "Although I think she did a good job talking you into going to Uni." He shoved his hand into the pocket of his jeans. "I'm proud of you, V."

"Yeah, yeah," she shrugged it off, uncomfortable with compliments. Just like her brother. "Not doing so bad for a couple of street rats, right?"

"Right," he nodded. "Anyway, I'll catch you later, yeah? We'll do dinner some time this week?"

"Maybe," Octavia said. "Clarke helped me with _all _my studies, so I'm actually going to have to get my ass into gear for the next six months."

"You'll do fine," he assured her.

"Yeah, yeah. Night, big bro."

"Night, V."

He dumped his phone back on the couch and walked into the bathroom. The shower was hot, steam already billowing into the small bathroom. He pushed off his jeans and prepared to get it. It was then that he caught a glimpse of his reflection of his back in the mirror and he stopped.

"Shit," he breathed as he took in the long, reddened scratched marks on his back, left by Clarke the night before.

For a long moment, his expression was blank.

Then a slow smirk spread across his face and he shook his head.

"Didn't know you had it in you, Princess."

_Okay, so for my two things, there's this song that I was going to quote. But then there was another song, and another, and I couldn't choose which one, so I was like; this is my story, so I can name them all! So there's _Legendary Lovers_ by Katy Perry. Hated it the first time I heard it, then my best friend overplayed it to the absolute max, and somehow I was cornered into loving it. _Talking Body_ by Tove Lo. So much loooooove! She was incredible live, and when she sung this song she had nodules on her vocal cords and still managed to pull it off. Oooh and she went on stage in bare foot, which was awesome. Last song is _Up_ by Olly Mars and Demi Lovato. God, just love it! Clearly..._

_Last thing is my fave on screen couple! Dotty! Such incredible love for this couple which anyone would know if you've been following me for a while. They are incredible on screen tomorrow; the chemistry, the history, the way they just bounce off each other. Both of their eyes when they talk about each other or with each other...God damn. Vin Diesel is this gorgeous hunk of a man, and I could totally get off on his voice alone, and Michelle Rodriquez is a total kick ass babe, one of the only woman I can see opposite him, because he needs a strong female and she is perfection in that aspect. I can't get enough of them together and I can't wait for April to roll around with the latest movie! Whoop Whoop!_

_I've decided to do a challenge...Coz I'm corny like that. So I've got so many couples that I ship (I'm a bit of a shipping whore). I was wondering if you guys would be able to guess my top ten? I've already given you the first one, and the rest don't have to be in order. For the three people who guess the most out of the ten, I will do a one shot of your request :) I'm putting this on a couple of my other stories as well, so it's the first three out of all of those stories, not three per story. Haha. I need a pick me up with my writing, and I thought this could be a fun way to do it, because I love your ideas and I miss writing one shots!_

_So let me know what you think, and let me know who you think of the story! Tell me what you want to see, what you liked :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_So first off I just want to say ; I am sorry about the whole wait time on these updates. Me and my writing are kind of just having a disagreement. Just not feeling inspired and all that crap, and when your muse is being all elusive, it's pretty damn hard to write anything that's actually worth reading. The second thing was; as a writer, seeing so many people following/favouriting a story that you're writing is incredible. However, it's the reviews that really push you to keep writing and to inspire you. Feedback is definitely what tells you how you're doing, if people are really enjoying it, what people are enjoying. It can get hard to feel motivated if the work doesn't feel appreciated. _

_Anyway! On with the story, hope that it's up to par._

Clarke worked over sixty hours in her first week.

She had been interning at the hospital for the past six months and her mother was a surgeon; so she had been around hospitals all her life, so she knew what to expect. But that didn't stop her body from almost collapsing on the spot at four-thirty when she finished her final shift of the week. She stumbled out of the hospital and into the parking lots, glad for the cold, morning air on her face to wake her up before she got into her car. She had been so busy this week that she hadn't had time to think about her run in with Bellamy; which was a good thing, because she would just be over-thinking it like she usually did.

She didn't even bother showering before she fell into bed, pulling off her pale green scrubs and dropping them to the ground, falling into bed and sinking into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p>"Clarke!" Octavia's overly cheerful voice filtered through Clarke's phone. The blonde blinked and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was just after ten. "So we're doing dinner tonight, and then there's this party at one of the girls houses."<p>

"I'm pretty tried, aye," Clarke said, searching for an excuse to stay home.

"I haven't seen you all week, that's the longest I've gone without seeing you in ages!" Octavia protested. Clarke winced, her friends shrill tone ringing through her aching skull. "C'mon, it's dinner and then some drinks afterwards. If you don't want to stay late, that's cool, but still come for a bit!" Clarke let out a sigh and closed her eyes. The only way to get Octavia off her back was to agree with her, Clarke had learnt that a long time ago.

"Okay, where's dinner?" Octavia let out a squeal.

"It's at the _Bluestone_," she said. "And the party is at Luanne's."

"See you then," Clarke muttered, ending the call and rolling back over, shoving her head underneath her pillow.

* * *

><p>The ten hour sleep Clarke got through the day definitely helped. Her eyes didn't have that bruised look they had started sporting by Thursday, and she didn't look as pale. Her mother, Abigail Griffin, was a surgeon, and so from a young age Clarke already knew that the life in the medical industry was long and tiring. She would just need to get used to it.<p>

She dressed simply, a pair of dark skinny jeans and light bue v-neck jersey, and she drove her car to the _Bluestone_. She wasn't planning on drinking enough to stop her from driving back home. When she arrived, Finn was outside having a smoke.

"Hey, Doc," he greeted her with a smile.

"_Nurse_," Clarke corrected him.

"Whatever," Finn smirked.

"Everyone here?" She asked, leaning against the wall next to him.

"Uh, Raven, Vee and Jasper. Oh, and Vee's brother."

"Bellamy's here?"

"Yeah," Finn raised an eyebrow as he dropped his cigarette to the ground and stubbed it out with the toe of his boot. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"No, no," she quickly shook her head.

"You guys looked pretty close the other night," he grinned. Clarke was glad that they were heading inside now and the dim, mood lighting of the restaurant shadowed her face and hid the way her cheeks flared. "He took you home, right?"

"Uh, right," Clarke nodded and cleared her throat as they walked into the main seating area of the restaurant. Jasper and Raven were on one side of the table, with a spare seat for Finn next to the dark haired girl. Octavia and Bellamy were sitting on the other side of the table, and unfortunately for Clarke, the spare seat on that side of that table was on the other side of the eldest Blake sibling.

"Clarke!" Octavia squealed, jumping up from her seat and wrapping her arms around her friends neck. She pulled back and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "I'd almost forgotten what you looked like."

"It's been a week, Vee," Clarke rolled her eyes, trying to keep her eyes on her friend and not drift over to her brother.

"Yeah, well, feels like longer," Octavia muttered as she fell back into her seat. Clarke had no choice but to look over at Bellamy, who had a strange half smile on his face and she nodded at him, moving to take the seat next to him. "So how was your first week?"

"It was long," Clarke shot her friend a quick smile. "I start back on Tuesday though, so time to catch up on sleep."

"Did you kill anyone yet?" Jasper grinned, looking far too interested in the prospect. Clarke rolled her eyes and had to laugh, feeling her body relax for the first time.

"_No_, Jasper, I didn't kill anyone," she rolled her eyes.

"Damn," Jasper muttered, his face falling. The table laughed and the tension that Clarke was feeling eased. Raven started talking about her week, dominating the conversation of the table and allowing both Bellamy and Clarke to relax. Clarke distracted herself with the menu while Bellamy wasn't quite as lucky. The six of them sitting around the table was pretty cosy, and they were just going to get closer once Monty and Wells Jaha arrived. His leg was already brushing against Clarke's intermittently when they moved, and he was having a hard time focusing on anything else.

He bit down on his lower lip to try and bring himself back to reality, lower his head from the clouds.

"Hey, guys!" Monty greeted them as he and Wells reached the table, settling down at the head of the table. "Have you guys ordered yet?"

"Not yet," Finn replied.

"Thank God. I'm starving!"

The waitress came over a few minutes after and made her way around the table. Wells fell into deep conversation with Clarke, something about their parents, and Octavia was talking to Raven across the table. Bellamy gritted his teeth as Clarke reached over to get the jug of water in the center of the table and her arm rested against his for a moment, before she jerked it away and put it on her lap. He had been thinking about what had happened all week—starting work hadn't been even close enough of a distraction to make him forget the cause behind the scratches on his back. But it all came down to one thing.

What happened with Clarke Griffin couldn't happen again.

The list of things that Bellamy loved was a short.

He loved sex.

He loved jumping into the ocean on a burning hot summers afternoon.

He loved the movie _Dumb and Dumber._

He loved eating a perfectly cooked steak that was browned on the outside and blood red on the inside.

Above all else, he loved his sister.

Despite everything his mother had done and put him and Octavia through, there was a begrudging part of him that loved her.

And he loved Clarke.

He wasn't _in _love with her, but he had loved her since they were kids.

Bellamy knew her like the back of his hand, which is why he knew that she deserved better than him. But he also knew that for two reasons she wouldn't accept that. The first being that she was just too damn stubborn. The second reason because she was too good of a person, she always thought the best in people, especially the people she cared about. She could be as judgmental as his sister, but she had a definite blind spot when she considered someone family.

"Bell?...Bellamy?" The whole table was staring at him, including Clarke.

"Sorry," he shook his head and gave Octavia a sheepish grin. "What did you say?"

"We're going to a party afterwards and I was wondering if you wanted to come?" She asked.

"Are all the cool kids going?" Bellamy teased her with a smirk. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure there'll be lots of really drunk college girls there for you to hit on," she grinned straight back at him. She didn't notice the way Clarke's smile faltered and she dropped her head, studying her food intently all of a sudden. Bellamy saw her movement out of the corner of his eye and clenched his jaw.

"Yeah, sounds great."

* * *

><p>It was just after eleven by the time they got to the house, and the party was in full swing. Raven, Finn and Jasper went with Clarke while Bellamy, Octavia, Wells and Monty took a taxi to the house. Once they got there, Jasper and Monty were instantly making a bee-line for the kitchen to find out what kind of beverages were available for them to abuse. Raven dragged Octavia inside, the two girls finding their way into the middle of the lounge where people were dancing. Clarke was soon left with Bellamy and they stood in the hallway of the house. They made eye contact awkwardly and then looked away, laughing under their breath.<p>

"So—"

"I'm—"

They broke off and both laughed again.

"You go," Bellamy told her, trying not to appear as nervous as he felt as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans.

"I was just going to ask how your week was. Vee said that you got that job?" Clarke tilted her head downward, not looking at him.

"Uh, yeah. With a couple of guys that I went to school with," Bellamy replied.

"That's cool," she flashed him a tight smile, stubbing at the ground with the front of her shoe. Conversation stopped there and Bellamy's eyes drifted around the the hallway, looking through the doorway to the lounge where there were people dancing. There was a girl with long brown hair, wearing a pair of high waisted and a crop top, and she shot him a wide smile as his eyes fell on her. Bellamy shot a look at Clarke out of the corner of his eye and chewed down on his lower lip. If this was two weeks ago, Bellamy wouldn't think twice about leaving Clarke and walking over to the girl who was still giving him come hither eyes, and that was exactly what he should be doing now.

"I'll catch up with you later, yeah, Princess?" He leaned in and kissed her quickly on the forehead and made his way into the lounge. He could feel her eyes on his back and his shoulders were tensed. The dancing girl stopped unsteadily, her eyes looking a little hazy from the alcohol.

"Hey!" She greeted him.

"Hey," he gave her a lazy smirk that he knew girls tripped over themselves for. It was clearly working because she reached out to loop an arm around his neck and pull him in close to her. "I'm Bellamy."

"Lexa," she replied as she started moving against him. She was a good dancer, albeit a little sloppy from the alcohol in her system, and despite the fact that Bellamy would rather be standing with the blonde in the doorway, he could feel his body responding to the attractive girl. She rolled her hips against his and he dropped both hands to her hips, fingers curving around and brushing over her ass. "Do you want a drink?" Lexa asked a few minutes later, tilting her head to the side, her thick eyelashes fluttering at him.

"Yeah, sure," he nodded. She dropped her hands from his neck, one hand going to his and pulling him toward a table set up near the back wall.

"Jack good for you?"

"Yeah," Bellamy told her distractedly as he tried to appear nonchalant as he looked around the room. Octavia had found someone to occupy his time, and he quickly skipped over her, not at all interested in watching his little sister make out with some guy. Raven was dancing with Monty and Jasper, and Wells and Finn were talking and laughing in the corner of the room. His eyes went to the doorway, where Clarke was standing. She wasn't looking at him, she was talking to a girl that he didn't recognize, but from the way one arm was shoved into her pocket and the other was twirling around a loose strand of hair, he could tell that she wasn't happy, probably bored. There weren't many people that could hold Clarke's interest. The girl walked away and left Clarke alone, and that was when the blonde looked back over at him.

There eyes connected and he saw the glimmer of hurt in her eyes before she quickly hid it.

It was something he had seen her do a hundred times before, but never around him. Not before the other morning when he had left her apartment. And now it was the second time in a week.

Bellamy gritted his teeth and looked back at Lexa, forcing himself not to glance back toward the doorway.

"Here," Lexa tapped him on the arm and handed him a plastic shot glass filled with Jack Daniels.

"Thanks," he nodded at her, taking it and throwing it back. She matched him with her own, but shook her head when he poured himself another one.

"So are you here with anyone?" Lexa asked, looking up at him coyly.

"Just some friends and my sister," Bellamy answered.

"No girlfriend waiting for you at home?" She pressed.

"No girlfriend," he confirmed, giving her another smile. He had done this dance a hundred times before, and he had done it with Clarke in the same room, but it was just different this time. If this girl wasn't so drunk, she would be able to pick up on his hesitation and the fact that she didn't have his full attention. As it was, she _was_ drunk, and she took the step that was separating the two and then her lips were on his. She knew what she was doing, and when she put her hands on his face to hold his mouth to hers, Bellamy kissed her back. He tried to put as much enthusiasm into making out with the brunette as he had one week ago when kissing Clarke.

When she pulled away and licked her lips with a smile, Bellamy couldn't help but look over his shoulder to the doorway where Clarke had been standing.

She was gone.

_My two things that have made me happy recently...Well, I went on holiday with my hubby and two of my best friends the other weekend and we went on the shot over jet. My country is a gorgeous place with amazing rivers and countryside, and apart from getting completely drenched, it was so incredible! The second thing is Taylor Momsen, the lead singer for The Pretty Reckless. She is absolutely amazing; fucking hot and with this stunning voice. I also loved her in _Gossip Girl_ :P_


	4. Chapter 4

_I'm loving your response guys! I'm so glad that you're enjoying it. _

John Murphy crumbled up the paper bag that was stained with pastry grease and tossed the ball into the rubbish bin across the room. It bounced off the edge of the bin and then fell on the ground, drawing laughs from Bellamy and Atom. He shot a glare at them before standing up and brushing the crumbs off his pants.

"Yo, guys," he said in a low voice. "Incoming." All three boys looked up to where a leggy red-head was walking toward them. She was tottering along on high heels and had a distressed look on her face.

"Bellamy?" Atom shot a grin at his friend. "Because it's the first one to come by since you've been here, we'll let you have first shot at the damsel in distress." Bellamy looked over to where she was walking, almost at the edge of their garage now, but then his phone started ringing. He looked down at it, and saw the picture of his sister lighting up the screen.

"You guys go ahead," he told them. "I gotta take this." He got up off the couch he was sharing with Atom and put his phone to his ear. "Hey, Vee."

"Hey, Bell!" She replied. "How's work?"

"It's...Work," he looked over his shoulder to where both John and Atom were hitting on the red-head, who's car had apparently broken down on the side of the road a couple of blocks over. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Okay, so..." Octavia dragged out. "Are you busy tonight?" Bellamy frowned.

"Usually when you start a sentence like that it's not because you want to do something fun, it's because you want a favor," he pointed out. "What do you want?"

"Well it's really not about me at all, _actually_," Octavia continued. "It's about Clarke." Bellamy straightened up, his body tensing at just the sound of her name.

"What's up? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's fine. Well if you can call someone acting like a workaholic at twenty two," she said. "It's just, it's been three weeks since she started working at the hospital, and she's doing like sixty hours a week."

"Yeah, that's to be expected."

"Whatever, I want to go into a general practitioners office, not the hospital," Octavia sounded as though she was drifting off, down another train of thought. "I don't want to work those kind of hours, plus I don't want to work Friday nights. I still want a life after I turn into a proper adult." Bellamy rolled his eyes and shook his head at his little sisters reasonably naive outlook on life.

"I don't think you can choose straight off what kind of nursing you want to go into, not if you just want a job to pay the bills," he began. "And back to Clarke?"

"Oh right," she took in a deep breath. "It's Friday night, and she's pulling the late shift tonight, not getting off until like three in the morning, and I was going to take her dinner."

"But..."

"But I've got a date."

"Is she expecting you to take her dinner?"

"No, I just thought it would be nice."

"So you're blowing her off in your head, you haven't even told her," Bellamy raised an eyebrow even though she couldn't see him. "Although I'd like to point out that I'm pretty sure you're choosing the whole hoe over bro thing, by choosing to go out with a booty call rather than taking dinner to your friend."

"He's not just a booty call, Bell," Octavia whined. "He's really hot, and he's really nice. And he's older—"

"I don't want to know, Vee," Bellamy interrupted her.

"Okay, bottom line; can you take Clarke dinner?" She asked.

"Wait, me?"

"Yeah."

"Uh," Bellamy scratched the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling, breathing in through his nose. It was a Friday night, but he didn't have any plans. It had been almost three weeks since he had seen Clarke, and he would be lying if he said that he hadn't thought about her every single day. He also just missed her, as a friend; being in the same city as her but not seeing her. "Yeah. Okay."

"Thanks! Okay, her break is about eleven thirty—"

"Eleven thirty?!"

"Don't act like that's too late for you. I know that you pull all nighters on a weekly basis."

"Yeah, okay, I got it, Vee."

"Love you, Bell," she sung out.

"You don't have a choice," he returned as he ended the call.

* * *

><p>Clarke let out a long breath as she pulled her cap off her head and pulled the tie out of her hair. She was only about halfway through her shift, and her body was already aching. She didn't even have the full weekend off, she was going to be back on Sunday afternoon, but then she got Tuesday off as well, and that was when she was planning on catching up on sleep. She walked into the cafeteria, fumbling around in her wallet as she screwed up her nose at the selection.<p>

"Clarke!" Came a shout from behind her and she heard running footsteps. She spun around on her heel, tilting her head to the side in confusion as she saw Bellamy approaching her.

"Hey, Bellamy," she arched her eyebrows and took in a deep, slightly shaky breath as she tried to keep her expression impassive. "What're you doing here?"

"Dinner," Bellamy grinned at her, holding up a plastic bag that smelt like heaven.

"You brought me Indian?" Clarke looked like she was going to jump into his arms and kiss him, but restrained herself. "You're a lifesaver."

"What can I say, I'm all for saving a pretty girl," he shrugged his shoulders at her, smiling broadly. Clarke rolled her eyes, taking the plastic bag from Bellamy and leading the way over to one of the uncomfortable plastic seats and table. He sat down opposite her as she pulled out the big container of rice and then two smaller plastic containers with curry.

"How'd you know what time my break was?"

"Vee," Bellamy replied as he snapped off the lid of his curry.

"Right," Clarke nodded and took the lid off her own curry, and then the rice, breathing in deeply. "Oh my god," she moaned. "This is going to be the first proper meal I've had since Sunday. Everything else I've been having has been coming either straight of the vending machine or is processed within an inch of it's life from the cafeteria."

"Did you think about bringing in food from home?" Bellamy asked, glancing over at the way she was shoveling the food into her mouth. He smirked at the way she unabashedly ate, just another one of the things he loved about her.

"I did that when I first started interning here, a couple months ago," Clarke said, covering her mouth with her hand so that she could talk without him seeing her mouthful of food. Her words were still muffled though. "Doesn't matter if I name the container, if I don't keep it in my locker, then someone always eats it. And I can't keep stuff in my locker, or it starts smelling."

"Stuck between a rock and a hard place," he quoted, looking sympathetic. Clarke shrugged back and they fell into comfortable silence as they ate. Bellamy finished first and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms over his broad chest. She glanced up at him as she ate and rolled her eyes.

"You know I hate it when people watch me when I eat," she muttered. She finished off her food and wiped at her mouth, leaning back in her seat.

"Did you know Vee has a date tonight?"

"Ooh," Clarke grinned, tilting her head forward so that her long hair hung around her face. "One of the Blakes actually dating before getting into bed with someone? It's like a Christmas miracle."

"I know, right?" Bellamy shook his head, grinning back, his dark curls bouncing slightly around his face. "It's like we're evolving." The smile on her face faded a bit and her eyes drifted away from his, looking over his head at the posters on the walls.

"Well, one of you is," she muttered, her lips tightening. Bellamy licked his lips and scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, a habit he had had since he was a kid. "Look, thanks for bringing in dinner. I better get back to work now." He frowned.

"Wait, that's your whole break?"

"Uh, I get another one later on," Clarke mumbled as she stood up and lifted her hands to re-tie her hair in a ponytail. Bellamy watched silently as she packed up their rubbish and put it into the plastic bag. She walked over to the bin and threw it in before looking back at him. He was watching her with dark, intense eyes; the eyes that always made her feel completely naked, like he could see every single thought that was running through her head. "Thanks again, for bringing me dinner."

"Clarke," Bellamy took in a deep breath as he pushed away from the table, the legs of the chair scraping on the ground. "About the other night—"

"We don't need to talk about—"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm not one for big, in depth conversations, you know that, Princess," Bellamy gave her a half smirk but she didn't look amused and his face sobered up. "Clarke, I shouldn't have let things escalate the other night." He knew he had said the wrong then when her blue eyes narrowed at him.

"Shouldn't have _let_ it happen?" She began, her voice steely.

"That's not, uh, quite what I meant," Bellamy stood up quickly and closed the distance between them. Her hands flew up in front of her, bracing her hands against his chest. He saw the walls up in her eyes and he felt his heart tighten, annoyed at the way he had seen her close him out three times in the past month—that was three times more than in the past five or six years.

"Shit, Bellamy!" She growled. "I can't do this right now, okay? I'm at work!"

"It doesn't have to be a...A thing, Princess. I just want to—Fuck," Bellamy took in a deep breath, stepping away from her defensive arms. "It doesn't have to be some huge conversation. I just want to say I'm sorry, and can we pretend that the other night never happened?" There was a flicker in her eyes and he heard her suck in a quick breath before she ducked her head.

"Pretend it never happened," she said quietly, locking her jaw as she stared at the ground.

"Clarke..."

"Bellamy," she said, her voice a little stronger but still hitching every few words. "I get that it might be easy for you to forget what happened. But it's not for me—"

"That's my point!" He interrupted. Her shoulders hunched even more. "You deserve someone to take you out and spoil you rotten, and I'm just not like that."

"No," she snapped. "You prefer trash like Lexa."

"For the record, I never went home with Lexa," he quickly said. "And, Clarke, come on," he attempted another smile, reaching out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, feeling her stiffen under her touch. "You're one of the most important people in my life, and I hate that shit is awkward between us coz things are never awkward with us—"

"I have to get back to work," Clarke cut him off, her tone snappy. "You want to pretend that that night never happened, then you got it." She lifted her head to shoot one last glare at him before she spun on her heel and stalked away. Bellamy watched her go, a bewildered expression on his face.

_Now, two things that have made me get the feels over the past week. Went to the beach for a long weekend with a couple of my girls, which was awesome. Admittedly, we only actually went down to the beach once and spent the rest of it drinking wine and eating pizza and watching _Geordie Shore _and_ Ex On The Beach_ marathons, but it was perfect. The second thing is the song Haunt by Bastille. Oh my GOD. That song just makes me ache every time I hear it! It's so perfect, I just get the shivers. _


End file.
